BRUSSELS -- Malala Yousafzai, the 16-year-old Pakistani education activist who was the target of an assassination attempt by the Taliban, has been awarded the 2013 Sakharov Prize by the European Parliament.

Martin Schulz, the president of the EU legislature, said on October 10 that the award was in acknowledgement of Malala's "incredible strength" in standing up for the rights of all children to be educated.

"Malala is a young girl and you all know her story," Schultz said. "[She] is a young girl, a young adult, from the violence-filled Swat Valley in Pakistan; who showed incredible courage against an enemy in a male-dominated, violent environment. Who had the courage to say 'I am going to school. I will insist on my right to a [normal] childhood. I am, as a girl, an equal member of this society.'"

EU lawmaker Joseph Daul, the chairman of the European People's Party, called Malala "an icon of courage for all teenagers who dare to pursue their aspirations." Like a candle, he said, "she lights a path out of darkness."

British deputy Graham Watson was one of the parliament members who nominated Malala.

"I nominated Malala Yousafzai because I believe she represents something that so many strive for, which is a girl claiming her right to be educated," Watson told RFE/RL. "We need far more people like Malala standing up and insisting that women have a right to be educated in societies where it is often denied."

WATCH: European Parliament President Martin Schultz announces the award.